I’ve been requested many occasions over the previous few years to do a assessment of the Yuka app. It’s all the time attention-grabbing seeing apps that purport to assist folks make higher decisions with their meals, as a result of inevitably these apps scale back these decisions to some arbitrary class of ‘good’ and ‘unhealthy.’
How does Yuka decide if a meals is ‘good’ or ‘unhealthy’? And what’s the profit or hurt of utilizing an app like this? Let’s get into it.
What’s the Yuka App?
The Yuka app was initially launched in France in 2017 and later launched in Canada and the US in 2022. Based on their web site, they’ve over 55 million customers.
The app permits customers to scan barcodes of meals and beauty merchandise and provides them a ranking of how “wholesome” or not they’re. For merchandise with a decrease rating, the app suggests another option that they deem to be ‘higher’.
For this Yuka app assessment, we’ll follow the meals and vitamin facet of the Yuka app.
If you scan a product, it provides you an general rating and ranking after which breaks down the optimistic and damaging attributes of a product based mostly on the Yuka app scoring system, which we’ll get to.
The app additionally classifies meals as “good” or “unhealthy” based mostly on the general rating.
Yuka additionally prides itself on being unbiased and never influenced by meals corporations. There’s a premium, paid model of the app and that’s how they earn cash.
How does the Yuka app rating merchandise?
The Yuka app scores merchandise based mostly on three components: dietary high quality is 60% of the rating, the presence of components is 30%, and a product being natural or not is 10%. Based on the Yuka app’s web site, this 10% is a “bonus” that’s robotically given to natural merchandise.
The scoring system for dietary high quality is predicated on a way adopted by a number of European nations known as Nutri-Rating. Nutri-Rating grades the dietary high quality of meals merchandise based mostly on power (energy), sugars, saturated fat, sodium, fibre, and protein and of fruit, greens, legumes and nuts. A front-of-package labeling system is then used, which breaks down meals into 5 classes based mostly on vitamin high quality. The system charges meals from ategory A to E, the place A signifies greater dietary high quality and E is decrease.
The classes are given a coloration based mostly on a site visitors mild, the place the upper classes are inexperienced, descending to yellow after which purple, relying on the general rating.
There may be analysis on Nutri-Rating however as I’ve stated many occasions, simply because analysis exists, doesn’t imply it’s good analysis. This research discovered associations (not causations) that utilizing this method has advantages on well being and lowered mortality, however these findings had been weak general, and lots of components similar to genetics and environmental components weren’t considered. The research used meals frequency questionnaires, that are notoriously inaccurate, to evaluate dietary patterns. They solely assessed diets at baseline, after which adopted up a number of years later. We all know that folks can change their consuming habits and life-style habits over time, so making conclusions based mostly on one survey at one cut-off date doesn’t inform us a lot.
I’ve written about interpret vitamin analysis right here.
If you use the Yuka app to scan a meals merchandise, it provides you a numerical rating out of 100 and a ranking of both “wonderful,” “good”, “poor,” or “unhealthy.” For instance, the goldfish crackers I scanned got a rating of seven/100 (unhealthy) as a result of they’d components that Yuka says must be averted, and an excessive amount of sodium and energy in line with the app. A few of the optimistic attributes given had been that the crackers had 3g of protein, and had been low in saturated fats.
The pure peanut butter I scanned was given 69/100 (good), however misplaced factors for being too excessive in energy and saturated fats.
Categorizing meals as “good” or “unhealthy” is a horrible apply. It will probably create guilt and disgrace round meals and consuming, and it’s fully arbitrary. There aren’t any good or unhealthy meals. Any meals can match right into a assorted weight loss program, and meals ought to by no means be related to morality-based labels.
This kind of narrative doesn’t assist anybody be more healthy (particularly emotionally – and that issues simply as a lot as bodily well being), and it tends to create extra confusion round vitamin. Peanut butter has plenty of wholesome fat, nutritional vitamins and minerals. This isn’t the 80’s once we had been all avoiding fats.
I can’t even think about anybody giving peanut butter factors off for being excessive in energy – it’s a NUT BUTTER. It’s additionally filled with vitamin (and low in saturated fats!). High quality of energy issues!
Labeling meals pretty much as good or unhealthy can even create concern and nervousness round meals, and lead folks to develop orthorexic kind habits the place they develop into overly centered on making wholesome decisions. That is horrible for our psychological well being and takes away from the truth that we don’t eat meals in isolation. It’s the totality of our diets that matter.
Should you’re consuming a weight loss program stuffed with entire and minimally processed meals, you shouldn’t should care concerning the ‘rating’ of your crackers or peanut butter or no matter.
The Yuka app ranks meals with greater quantities of saturated fat as “unhealthy,” or a minimum of lowers their rating. Dairy merchandise are notably affected by this ranking system as a result of they’re naturally greater in saturated fats. Tips for saturated fats consumption are to maintain it at lower than 10% of our whole calorie consumption. After I scanned cheese, it acquired a low ranking as a result of it was too excessive in saturated fats and likewise misplaced factors for being too excessive in energy and sodium.
Meals comprise quite a lot of vitamins, and whereas cheese could have extra saturated fats (in comparison with lower-fat milk or yogurt for instance), it’s a good supply of protein, calcium and different nutritional vitamins and minerals. Analysis additionally means that the saturated fats in dairy merchandise is just not a danger issue for irritation or coronary heart illness.
Decreasing the rating due to one facet is problematic, and letting that decide the general dietary worth of the meals, simply leads folks to be confused about making wholesome decisions.
The calorie ranking system additionally appears a bit off to me. Cheese had 120 energy per serving and was deemed “a bit too caloric,” however 2% milk was thought-about “low energy” at 130 per cup. One meals could also be greater in energy than one other, however that meals may additionally be extra satiating. As soon as once more, this categorization can result in obsessive behaviours round meals and counting energy. Not wholesome.
Yuka app and components
Earlier than I say something, let me share that I discovered this a part of their ranking system to be fully ludicrous.
It informed me that the monocalcium phosphate in Goldfish Crackers was “hazardous,” however the rationalization they gave doesn’t show something. It solely states that getting an excessive amount of phosphorous can result in issues. An excessive amount of of something could be a unhealthy factor, however in case you’re going to touch upon the hazards of random components, you need to qualify these feedback with the precise quantity of this additive within the product, and the way a lot of the product you would need to ingest to trigger hurt.
Extremely, the app additionally categorized the monosodium glutamate (MSG) in my daughter’s Takis as ‘hazardous,’ when science persistently refutes that. The 14 research that Yuka cites to again up their claims usually are not convincing and seem like cherrypicked to go well with their narrative. Rodent research, cell research, previous research, horribly accomplished research, even a research that discovered no hostile results of MSG on people.
Possibly Yuka thinks the common individual isn’t going to test their citations, however I positive as heck am.
I reviewed the analysis round MSG. Learn my put up about whether or not MSG is secure, right here.
This whole factor can result in chemophobia round meals, making folks assume that what they’re consuming is poisonous. In actuality, all meals are completely secure. Meals components are nicely regulated in Canada and the US, and there are limits on how a lot can be utilized.
Ought to your weight loss program be comprised solely of Froot Loops? After all not. However let’s method our diets with some nuance and science right here.
PS: Froot Loops acquired the next rating than Multigrain Cheerios and Goldfish crackers.
Natural meals and Yuka app
After the entire Yuka app ‘additive’ scenario, I’m unhappy to say that I’m not stunned within the least by what they are saying about natural meals.
The web site cites the well being advantages of an natural weight loss program and states that natural meals are greater in antioxidants. Yuka states that individuals who eat extra natural meals have a lowered danger of most cancers, diabetes, and of being obese or overweight. They cite research to again up these claims, however these research solely present associations and never causation.
That’s as a result of there aren’t any direct hyperlinks between natural meals and improved markers of well being. None.
I’ve truly written concerning the research they cited that reveals that individuals who eat extra natural meals have a decrease danger of most cancers. There was a media frenzy when this research got here out, however what they don’t say is that individuals who eat extra natural meals are inclined to have more healthy diets and existence general in addition to higher entry to medical care, greater socioeconomic standing, and extra time for bodily exercise. These are all components that may impression illness danger excess of simply consuming natural meals over typical.
When the Yuka app suggests a “more healthy” different to a product, it’s normally an natural model that’s going to be dearer and this may lead folks to really feel unhealthy about their meals decisions, and we don’t want any extra of that going round.
Natural meals usually are not nutritionally superior to traditional meals. With costs of meals already being so excessive, most individuals can’t afford to eat natural meals. As a dietitian, I don’t advocate natural over typical, and I don’t purchase natural meals myself.
There are many natural meals which are ultra-processed, similar to cookies, crackers or frozen entrees. Whether or not natural or not, we must be consuming much less of those.
There may be completely no justification for Yuka to provide an computerized 10% level bonus to natural meals, and it is a lifeless giveaway that the app is mainly non-evidence based mostly rubbish.
Yuka app assessment: can Yuka assist us make higher meals decisions?
In terms of processed or packaged snack meals that rating low on Yuka, the app will counsel “more healthy” alternate options. The alternate options could also be decrease in sodium or sugar, however are they actually going to be an appropriate different for the individual based mostly on their preferences, funds, and many others?
For instance, the Goldish cracker’s top-rated different was an natural, gluten-free cracker that in my view, tastes like loss of life and likewise prices much more. What number of youngsters need Mary’s crackers? Critically, even I don’t need these issues. Will we should be guilting dad and mom into shopping for dearer alternate options when the unique is completely secure?
If the app suggests, for instance, selecting an natural cookie that’s made with natural sugar, it could have the next rating, however it isn’t a more sensible choice. Your physique goes to digest that sugar the identical approach as typical sugar, and scoring issues this fashion is deceptive. Sugar is sugar, and natural sugar is just not more healthy.
Most of us know what meals are nutritious and that make us really feel good. Essentially the most nutritious meals don’t sometimes include a barcode that may be scanned, however not every thing we eat must be bodily nourishing. A nutritious diet has quite a lot of meals….and no guilt hooked up.
Consuming extra entire meals and fewer ultra-processed ones is all the time ultimate, and we don’t want the app to inform us that.
The dearth of science on this app’s scoring system, plus the concern, disgrace, and nervousness it might probably create round meals, outweigh any profit it could have.
I wouldn’t advocate the Yuka app to anybody.
